Why is dust monitoring important?

If your work place is one that is a considerably stable environment, monitoring of dust is not something that you are likely to have heard of or understand the necessity for – but for many workers, monitoring of dust is an essential daily practice.

What is dust?

Dust is the generic term applied to any fine particles that can be found suspended in the earth's atmosphere. Dust arises from a broad range of environmental sources such as soil, sand, fire, pollens and spores in the natural world as well as human industry and spontaneous or controlled fossil fuel combustion.

In all cases, dust is formed when fine particles of a solid substance are dispersed into the atmosphere through the passage of wind or other forms of movement in the environment. Dust is not always visible to the naked eye, although high levels of fine particles may be apparent as a mist or haze.

Why is dust monitoring important?

For workers in high-risk industries, such as those working in mines or at chemical plants, monitoring of dust is an essential occupational safety procedure. This is because dust particles are so fine that they can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs causing toxic poisoning and potentially fatal health risks.

Industrial dusts can contain the waste of heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium that are extremely detrimental to human health, but even dust particles from the natural environment can be dangerous. In all its forms, dust has been found to contribute to various diseases and conditions such as lung cancer, lung disease, respiratory illness and serious allergic reactions so the importance of dust monitoring should never be underestimated.

How is dust monitored?

There are various methods used in dust monitoring for every context. Here are the three main ways that dust levels are measured and analysed:

Dust deposition gauges: This is a passive method of dust monitoring that relies on the capturing of dust within a funnelled bottle over a period of months. It is used to determine how dusty the particular sampling locations is, however, it is not an accurate method of determining the potential health risks of the environment because it does not measure the quantities of fine and very fine dust particles.

High volume samplers: This method of dust monitoring provides an analysis of the potential health risks of dust in an atmosphere because it measures very fine particles by analysing the average dust concentrations passing through an air filter over a period of 24 hours. High volume samplers can also be used to specifically measure the dust levels arising from a particular environmental event or location.

Continuous particle monitors: This is a continuous, real-time method of determining the concentration of dust particles using a variety of monitors and gauges that are installed permanently in the environment. Different filters can be fitted to measure particles of different sizes accurately. This is a reliable method of dust monitoring that measures concentrations and assesses associated health risks on a day-to-day basis.

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